Southerners hope to carry on tradition this season
Southside Batesville had one of its best seasons ever last year, wining 29 games and advancing to the semifinals of the Class 4A State Tournament. Despite losing several starters, 12th-year coach Brad McGhee is optimistic about this season. “We had a lot of success last year,” he said. The Southerners won their blended-conference title with a 15-1 record. They also won the Lyon College Tournament and the Class 4A East Region Tournament, beating eventual state champion Baptist Prep 46-45 in the title game. “This year, we are entering a brand-new conference with really good competition, but we hope to continue with the success we have had over the past few years,” McGhee said. The Southerners are members of the 4A-3 Conference with Batesville, Blytheville, Brookland, Highland, Pocahontas, Valley View and Jonesboro Westside. “Westside, Brookland, Valley View and Blytheville will all be very tough conference games,” McGhee said. “All of our conference games should be very competitive. This is also the first year that Batesville High School has been in our conference, so those two games should be exciting.” Returning starters include senior guards Will Sitkowksi, Koby Rich and Mathew Holifield. Sitkowski is the Three Rivers Edition Player to Watch this season. “Will, Mathew and Koby have all three been major parts of our team and starers since their sophomore year,” McGhee said. “They are all three capable ball handlers and scorers. Devan Halford should also be a contributing factor this year at the guard position.” McGhee said sophomore Trevor Longo and senior Caden Huskey will be the Southerners’ best inside players. McGhee said his team’s strengths include guard play, perimeter shooting, ball handling, senior leadership, solid fundamentals and desire for success. “We don’t have great size this season, and we will rely on multiple sophomores who lack experience to play big minutes for us this year,” McGhee said. The Southerners have several players who could play at the collegiate level, the coach said. “Will Sitkowski, Koby Rich and Mathew Holifield all have the ability to play college basketball,” McGhee said. The Southerners are scheduled to open the season Nov. 16 at Bald Knob. However, that game could get postponed if the Southerners or the Bulldogs football team is still in the state playoffs. “We will be a mostly guard-oriented group,” McGhee said. “They are a mix of seniors with a lot of experience and some underclassmen with little to no senior high experience. This is a group that is a lot of fun to coach. They will play hard and smart and try to limit mistakes.”